@thedisbatcher Since it it biochemical, it will have an effect. However, mentality in treatment is proven to make a difference in some sort of treatment. I am no expert, but I am guessing that beeing aware of something that is in your system and not wanting it may cause your body to react.
@thedisbatcher It's interesting you brought that up, as it's actually a very popular topic at the minute. Lots of people are doing research into seeing if there is such a thing as 'real' medicine and whether or not it is in fact all placebo effect.
Hi guys, if you wanna know how it works, here it is:
He applied a thick layer of rubber cement on his arm before the show. Thats the portion the 'needle' is going through. If you noticed the end of the 'needle' has a ball shaped handle, which is actually containing small amount of fake blood. you can see him pressing on to it at 8:05. The needle is no ordinary needle, it has some holes at the sides and when the ball handle is pressed, the fake blood comes out of it.
@samiccino feel good that you exposed it? Of course because it can be done for real with no trickery..well that may leave the possibility that he is one of those guys who really does shove a needle through his arm..just look at the art of hook suspension. Rubber cement won't allow full body weight suspension.
And might i add he merely attached some synthetic skin with some fake blood capsule. Everything else was to add to this perception . The towels at the end the sealer.
Maybe he didn't have enough experimental results to boast about? So maybe he did this weird stunt to make it appear like he did something meaningful? People arguing about it here would make several dozen meanings up about the whole point of what he did.
@Maverician Conditioning doesn't require intelligence. Animals can be conditioned. Amoeba can be conditioned. Even individual neurons can be conditioned.
@Maverician Technically, everything is conditioning, but good luck getting people to believe that. There's a reason why more people have heard of Dr. Phil or Freud than B. F. Skinner.
I think the biggest thing about placebo is that people need to understand that it is not a deficit, it is not something that makes you a bad person, etc. That is the main reason that people resist admitting the placebo effect. I had serious muscle pain my entire life, along with symptoms when I would breath in various fumes. Millions of Americans have this, and they all believe it's true. I looked up scientific studies and saw a great doctor and now I am pain/symptom free because of knowledge.
@biggyzboy He didn't stab himself - it was a trick. But the visceral response it generated in those watching it was still genuine. That was his point.
The best example of modern placebo magic, aka auto-suggestion, are these "power bracelets" and/or magnetic bracelets or magnetic back braces, etc. The thing is, these things *REALLY WORK*, but only because people believe they work. Even the people "testing" the power bracelets/balance bracelets etc believe that they work. It's been demonstrated that the belief of the test giver is even more important than the belief of the person having their balance or strength tested.
Well, that trick worked on me. As soon as I saw the wound my heart started to beat louder and faster, and I began to get nervous and nearly freak out. I guess that's exactly what he was going for, a placebo effect, a real effect of getting freaked out over nothing.
Interesting fact (I hope): The placebo effect is the most documented phenomenon in medicine, because every time a new type of drug is tested on people, there's a control group that is administered a placebo, too.
What a fake!! He presents this like it's some extraordinary effect... Pff.. Google Rubber cement! And you will know how the trick is done. Or better yet, just search for Needle Thru Arm, for a readily commercial magic trick...
FAKE! He chooses a very interesting thing to talk about and utilizes this cheap stunt... How unprofessional...
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
What a fake!! He presents this like it's some extraordinary effect... Pff.. Google Rubber cement! And you will know how the trick is done. Or better yet, just search for Needle Thru Arm, for a readily commercial magic trick...
FAKE! He chooses a very interesting thing to talk about and utilizes this cheap stunt... How unprofessional...
That's the point... to show something that is fake that can look real. You obviously missed the point. Dosent matter how simple it is it still looks impressive and real.
@birthdaythesuit00 Then it would indeed be one of those fluke times that the body naturally heals itself, yes it does happen just hardly ever. You would also however be expected to test if the placebo drug was indeed what cured the cancer. If it was then it must also be proven that it was not a one time only deal for it to be called a cure.
@waffles497 If someone can believe so much is something, like a placebo, to in fact have 'it' cure them, why can't we focus efforts in THAT instead? Focus on believing you can cure yourself vs. finding a cure itself? Taking into account that some people believe they get the drug and are cured off the placebo. I'm sure the placebo had little medically to do with it. But a possible connection between mind and body to strong that it can cure diseases without drugs? Need I say more?
@birthdaythesuit00 You're actually missing the point of placebo's, the people it ends up helping are the ones who had nothing wrong with them. Placebo's have never been known to be a cure for anything. When a placebo does make a person feel better it's usually because it was all in their head. You can do this with children all the time.
@birthdaythesuit00 There are ethical considerations in using placebos, of course. The real trick, I think, is to shift the patient's confidence from the treatment to oneself.
Also watch out for anti-medicine groups who claim that the body knows how to heal itself and works better without outside interference such as "drugs". (Science works, bitches.)
like the placebo effect, magic can make people believe something is real when it is actually fake. He is saying that it's all in the mind, it's all perception... that's my take on this 9 min. video
Enemy Belligerent Act:- Arrests and Indefinate Imprisonment without Lawful Cause and Due Process. Weed out Resisters
DHS Malintent & Naked Body Scanners:- Conditioning your Adherence to the Lovely Tyranny
S.773 - Cybersecurity Act of 2009:- Destroying Free Speech on the Internet. FED GOVERNMENT software standards for all ISP's. Allows Removal of all Global Communication at whim. Good to prevent Organized Resistors
Health Care HR 3590:- Completely Dicated Health Care Decisions. No Freedom
Oh come now, that's baloney and you know it! Every generation thinks the younger ones are screwing things up. How many people your age watch TED online??.. I would bet you that a larger percentage of younger people watch it.
Spirit gum! he's wrong about the placebo effect though. Placebo's work because most things one would take them for in clinical trials are self limiting. Meaning that they go away over time. While people "report" they feel better in actuality they are not. Reporting that you're feeling better, and actually being better are mutually exclusive.
@peart Well, your words tried to spark a part of my mind that invigoratingly attacks with wit lol (not trying to brag here). It was close, but no dice. I'll just say this: Ignorance is bliss...even though I really hate that saying...
@peart It's not only clinical trials that the effect is present, though that is where the terminology became popular. In areas like cancer recovery you'll find the positive regard and hope for the future work just as well, if not better, than the best scientific medicine has to offer.
Honey I am a Molecular Biologist and a Micro Biologist trust me the effect of the placebo is the reaction of the nerves to the sugar spike is only that honey
The needle trick at the end absolutely corresponds with the rest of the talk. As he mentioned earlier, how the placebo is delivered (tablet vs. capsule vs. syringe) in part determines it's effectiveness. By making the trick so graphic (large needle, appearance of piercing skin, copious blood), he increases it's effectiveness.
The knife trick is like the little white pill, the needle trick is like injecting the placebo.
I sympathize with the presenter, but I didn't get the message at all. How does the knife and the needle connect with the placebo effect? I would have liked to hear more fascinating stories about the placebo effect itself.
It's such a thin needle that it would do minimal damage even if it were real. Needles are routinely put into people during acupuncture, but they rarely come away with permanent damage.
However, in this case it's not real; if you look closely, he squeezes the end of the "needle" when he's bleeding. It's a thin tube with holes out the middle and the bulb at the end is full of fake blood (which is a little too dark red).
the obvious part is when he squeezes the ball at the bottom of the needle to produce blood. If the blood part of it is an illusion, then the whole thing must be also
Jesus like other gods invented by men are just placebos. We allow people to believe in their personal placebo until they do harm to themselves or others.
@bullwhipjesus I gotta say that I believe people's belief in a higher power makes it real. Christmas is a time I hate (not a big consumerism fan), but I do love that whole charity/good will towards others thing. I believe that's what makes God real. The belief of obligation makes us perform physical acts, which in turn fuels the belief.
@IAmTheUnknownPunk I do understand that believing in things that are not true can help someone.EX: If you convenced someone that was a smoker that Bill Gates would give them a million $ if they quit smoking, they would be way more likely to quit. Ultimately it is not real though. But I must ask what exactly do you mean by "god" the god of the bible,or horus, or zeus, or just a general generic god, etc...
Jesus like other gods created by men are all just placebo effects. It is real to believers, and as a society we allow them to fall for their placebo, only to the extent that they do not harm themselves or others.
so he basically went from the white pill to the needle to show, that our feelings about the visual perseption will make it seem real. we expect to see the holes. we expect to see blood. so we will think it is real, if he can show us both. so, when a patient gets a shot, or will be pierced and have the feeling of getting a shot, he will react accordingly. is that not the whole point about accupuncture? i guess it is.
i was a camp instructor once. a bunch of 12 year old girls came up to me and complained of a "headachey-stomachache" and that they wanted me to call up their parents to pick them up. Now, we were 80 miles out of town on a camping trip - probably the first one they ever went on. I gave them these neutral-colored jelly beans and told them that it was a special pill the camp gives out only to special cases like these. They came up to me the next morning and said they were feeling "much much better"
it's not fake skin, it's a special glue like liquid that he smeared on his arm before coming on stage. when he "pushed" the needle in, he twists it so that the skin on each sides of the needle sticks to each other and covers the needle, making it appear as if the needle is through the skin. the blood is obviously stored in the black thing at the end of the needle.
He actually pushed the needle through his arm, this is to show that because you believe its a magic trick, so you're not grossed out by it. That's why he was rambling on about the placebo effect, in other words it can work both ways, instead of taking something that's fake and making it real, he took something that's real and made it look fake. Otherwise why would he be rambling on about something that wasn't relevant?
No it's fake, When the "blood" comes out you can see him squeezing out the blood out with the black pump at the bottom. I've seen people do the special glue trick before, it really does look real though. The placebo effect was to confuse the audience as to what to believe actually happened.
There was glue on his arm, which stuck his skin into a fold, forming a tunnel which the "syringe" could pass through. The tip of the syringe is hollow, and the orb on the end is filled with a red liquid. This allows the magician to squeeze "blood" into the "wound".
It is a trick almost as obvious as the magnetic hand, and was not invented by Eric Mead.
The whole placebo thing was just remotely related, and seemed only an excuse to perform some simple magic. Not worthy of TED.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
Are you serious? This is one of the worst TED talks yet, the "point" of this talk was weak, forced, and seemed nearly like an after thought to his cringe-worthy unoriginal child's party trick.
If you compare this to the talks of Elizabeth Gilbert, Craig Venter, or Pranav Mistry, this presentation is just utterly woeful.
It's always interesting to hear judgement from someone who hasn't actually contrubited at all themselves, and uses the work of other people to pretend that their opinion counts.
Brilliant. All these sheeple on youtube won't understand, but some of us do. It's all in the mind, everything, you can take care of yourself depending on what you believe.
This comment has received too many negative votesshow
Placebos are magic. If they weren't then nothing would happen. What these "scientists" don't understand is not everything can be measured using fancy theories or whimsical mechanical doodads. When will they open their eyes to what God has to say?
The placebo effect occurs when you believe something will happen, therefore your body reacts accordingly. Placebos in the form of pain killers can make your body create endorphins. Placebos arent magic, its simply the fact that are body tends to react according to its believes. A few people whom meditate, etc can actually induce themselves..Its all about the mind and controlling it. Thats why many now think depression is a result of behavior and the body acting accordingly.
There was a study which found that facial expressions occur before mood. We have to smile to feel happy. People who feel themselves smiling after BOTOX injections actually feel better. I see your point making sense about people behaving in a depressed manner then becoming depressed.
Its not about being nonobservant. It comes more with experience and knowing "what" to look for. He never fully explained the trick, he just did it, and without the explanation of what is going to take place, you cant search for the inconsistencies. Thats how he gets people, The brain focuses on what he is going to do more than anything else. Therefore the only way you could know is by experience, or if you decided to ignore what was going on and just watch intensely.
rofl it took me a couple of seconds. The placebo is that the audience was thinking they were looking at a magic trick but he really did just stab himself in the arm.
None of the reviews on here seem to analyze the performace in full, so in a few words, here it is.
He states his motivation for the routine was finding out blue pills produce a greater mesurable result than white pills.
He then demonstrates this fact by perfomaing two magic tricks; the second of which has a lager mesurable effect (the physical effect of making audeince members "queasy"). He want us to think criticaly about the power of the placebo effect whatever we may make of it.
this trick is done with glue or rubber cement to pinch the skin together, when he wasn't showing the insertion he was holding the skin very tightly pinched around the needle as the glue binded it. the needle was used to pump the fake blood out of the sides of the fake wound, notice he pumps or touches the end of the needle during the bleeding part.
@bluepastel My understanding from the video is that the placebo effect is essentially when you make someone believe a falsehood in order to induce a certain effect on that person. In this case Mr. Mead made his audience believe that he was merely performing an magic trick in order to make people laugh at something they would have otherwise been really grossed out by.
The top 10 link is a fail
CrannBethadh 2 months ago
what about the opposite effect? if you take real medicine but are told it is a placebo and wont work, will your body not react to it?
thedisbatcher 3 months ago 3
@thedisbatcher Since it it biochemical, it will have an effect. However, mentality in treatment is proven to make a difference in some sort of treatment. I am no expert, but I am guessing that beeing aware of something that is in your system and not wanting it may cause your body to react.
pencrazypal 3 months ago
@thedisbatcher It's interesting you brought that up, as it's actually a very popular topic at the minute. Lots of people are doing research into seeing if there is such a thing as 'real' medicine and whether or not it is in fact all placebo effect.
CymroGoch 2 months ago
This guy has a really good point, but he is kinda badly prepared; referring to graphs without showing them, etc.
aquamus 4 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Patience and perseverance have a magical effect
juliacotic 4 months ago
This has been flagged as spam show
placebos really work i try it with my friend ..
andreeaweed 4 months ago
i know its a trick intelectually. but by odin's beard, STOP MOVING IT >,<
pyr666 4 months ago
Hi guys, if you wanna know how it works, here it is:
He applied a thick layer of rubber cement on his arm before the show. Thats the portion the 'needle' is going through. If you noticed the end of the 'needle' has a ball shaped handle, which is actually containing small amount of fake blood. you can see him pressing on to it at 8:05. The needle is no ordinary needle, it has some holes at the sides and when the ball handle is pressed, the fake blood comes out of it.
Hope that helps.
samiccino 5 months ago 3
@samiccino feel good that you exposed it? Of course because it can be done for real with no trickery..well that may leave the possibility that he is one of those guys who really does shove a needle through his arm..just look at the art of hook suspension. Rubber cement won't allow full body weight suspension.
eahazell 3 months ago
worry makes us sick
Melki 6 months ago
REMINDS ME OF SETH MCFARLANE
Twiztedshot 6 months ago 8
He really did pierce himself, but the trick is that he made you believe it's fake, right?
thered0390 8 months ago 4
@thered0390 Wrong.
gadgetmanlol 7 months ago
@thered0390
It is a trick
fahadabid 7 months ago
lol I clicked on this thinking this was an "Epic Meal" video
darkhedos 9 months ago 3
And might i add he merely attached some synthetic skin with some fake blood capsule. Everything else was to add to this perception . The towels at the end the sealer.
Donal277 10 months ago
Terrible "trick"
Donal277 10 months ago
Maybe he didn't have enough experimental results to boast about? So maybe he did this weird stunt to make it appear like he did something meaningful? People arguing about it here would make several dozen meanings up about the whole point of what he did.
MultiWingnut 10 months ago
what just happened at the end? Did I not get something?
kissmyfarmer 10 months ago
isnt he holding the knife with his index finger?
at 1:58 you can only see 4 fingers, so the other one is holding the knife
wesleyz15 10 months ago 2
@wesleyz15 I hope you lots of luck in life... youre gonna need it.
CreepX 10 months ago
this trick was pretty obvious!
CalumnMcAulay 11 months ago
Oddly, to me he looks like some sort of Seth McFarland and Matthew Broderick offspring.
TomReeseqazwsx 11 months ago 2
The placebo effect is not a matter of belief, it's a matter of conditioning. That's why it works on animals too.
KingOfMadCows 1 year ago
@KingOfMadCows What exactly is the difference between belief and conditioning? (Philosophical question, not me simply asking)
Maverician 11 months ago
@Maverician Conditioning doesn't require intelligence. Animals can be conditioned. Amoeba can be conditioned. Even individual neurons can be conditioned.
KingOfMadCows 11 months ago
@KingOfMadCows In what way can you say that belief is not an extremely complex version of conditioning?
Maverician 11 months ago
@Maverician Technically, everything is conditioning, but good luck getting people to believe that. There's a reason why more people have heard of Dr. Phil or Freud than B. F. Skinner.
KingOfMadCows 11 months ago 2
Every med is becoming a damn placebo, soo many resistant strains, they're popping up faster than cures can be found.
HWGuyEG 1 year ago
I think the biggest thing about placebo is that people need to understand that it is not a deficit, it is not something that makes you a bad person, etc. That is the main reason that people resist admitting the placebo effect. I had serious muscle pain my entire life, along with symptoms when I would breath in various fumes. Millions of Americans have this, and they all believe it's true. I looked up scientific studies and saw a great doctor and now I am pain/symptom free because of knowledge.
LukeShetler 1 year ago
Placebo effect = Space Jam, yeahhhhhh
zhoutai3 1 year ago
I constantly use the effect on a everyday use, works well
Blue and a letter on them? so a White Painkiller is not as useful as a blue M&M? lol
MagicianDanielJoseph 1 year ago
i did this trick for a bunch of my friends and it went over very well. they were extremly amazed. it also helped that they were fairly intoxicated.
kiddhitta 1 year ago
superglue on the alcohol swab:)
thesweetmolasses 1 year ago
I'm lost on why He stabbed himself.
biggyzboy 1 year ago
@biggyzboy He didn't stab himself - it was a trick. But the visceral response it generated in those watching it was still genuine. That was his point.
fylosofer 1 year ago
The best example of modern placebo magic, aka auto-suggestion, are these "power bracelets" and/or magnetic bracelets or magnetic back braces, etc. The thing is, these things *REALLY WORK*, but only because people believe they work. Even the people "testing" the power bracelets/balance bracelets etc believe that they work. It's been demonstrated that the belief of the test giver is even more important than the belief of the person having their balance or strength tested.
Serpent257 1 year ago
Well, that trick worked on me. As soon as I saw the wound my heart started to beat louder and faster, and I began to get nervous and nearly freak out. I guess that's exactly what he was going for, a placebo effect, a real effect of getting freaked out over nothing.
Ledwix 1 year ago
I caught that trick with the knife.. I saw the 3 fingers .. that trick sucked sorry fans
mobspeak 1 year ago
@mobspeak you didnt watch it all did you?
phabbiola 1 year ago
ERIC IS MAD, its horrible
yanyue0 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Ron Paul 2012
Abolish the Fed
RunLiberty 1 year ago
Liked it a lot !
earcandy 1 year ago
Interesting fact (I hope): The placebo effect is the most documented phenomenon in medicine, because every time a new type of drug is tested on people, there's a control group that is administered a placebo, too.
DontTouchMyVicodin 1 year ago
He stabs himself and gets people to laugh and aplaud him. I would say that delivery of an experience certainly influences the effect.
drapz77 1 year ago
Comment removed
ANDREWSABAT 1 year ago
Glue on the skin, with fake blood in the hollow needle (hole halfway down the needle).
BroadcastPast 1 year ago 5
@BroadcastPast yes the fake blood is in the bulb he squeezes.
drapz77 1 year ago 6
This has been flagged as spam show
What a fake!! He presents this like it's some extraordinary effect... Pff.. Google Rubber cement! And you will know how the trick is done. Or better yet, just search for Needle Thru Arm, for a readily commercial magic trick...
FAKE! He chooses a very interesting thing to talk about and utilizes this cheap stunt... How unprofessional...
lucsan111 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
What a fake!! He presents this like it's some extraordinary effect... Pff.. Google Rubber cement! And you will know how the trick is done. Or better yet, just search for Needle Thru Arm, for a readily commercial magic trick...
FAKE! He chooses a very interesting thing to talk about and utilizes this cheap stunt... How unprofessional...
lucsan111 1 year ago
That's the point... to show something that is fake that can look real. You obviously missed the point. Dosent matter how simple it is it still looks impressive and real.
TheOnlyOreilly 1 year ago
What if tho? What if someone developed a cure for cancer and someone with cancer got the placebo injection and cured their cancer?
What if?
birthdaythesuit00 1 year ago
@birthdaythesuit00 Then it would indeed be one of those fluke times that the body naturally heals itself, yes it does happen just hardly ever. You would also however be expected to test if the placebo drug was indeed what cured the cancer. If it was then it must also be proven that it was not a one time only deal for it to be called a cure.
waffles497 1 year ago
@waffles497 If someone can believe so much is something, like a placebo, to in fact have 'it' cure them, why can't we focus efforts in THAT instead? Focus on believing you can cure yourself vs. finding a cure itself? Taking into account that some people believe they get the drug and are cured off the placebo. I'm sure the placebo had little medically to do with it. But a possible connection between mind and body to strong that it can cure diseases without drugs? Need I say more?
birthdaythesuit00 1 year ago
@birthdaythesuit00 You're actually missing the point of placebo's, the people it ends up helping are the ones who had nothing wrong with them. Placebo's have never been known to be a cure for anything. When a placebo does make a person feel better it's usually because it was all in their head. You can do this with children all the time.
waffles497 1 year ago
@birthdaythesuit00 There are ethical considerations in using placebos, of course. The real trick, I think, is to shift the patient's confidence from the treatment to oneself.
Also watch out for anti-medicine groups who claim that the body knows how to heal itself and works better without outside interference such as "drugs". (Science works, bitches.)
ThomasJAckerman 1 year ago
he really did stick a needle through his skin
RatRippinReptileRage 1 year ago
2:54 hey check it out... it's Patch Adams in the audience.
ecstatica23 1 year ago
im sorry is it just me? cause i dont see how this has to do w/ the placebo effect
150buckfifty150 1 year ago 3
like the placebo effect, magic can make people believe something is real when it is actually fake. He is saying that it's all in the mind, it's all perception... that's my take on this 9 min. video
ecstatica23 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Enemy Belligerent Act:- Arrests and Indefinate Imprisonment without Lawful Cause and Due Process. Weed out Resisters
DHS Malintent & Naked Body Scanners:- Conditioning your Adherence to the Lovely Tyranny
S.773 - Cybersecurity Act of 2009:- Destroying Free Speech on the Internet. FED GOVERNMENT software standards for all ISP's. Allows Removal of all Global Communication at whim. Good to prevent Organized Resistors
Health Care HR 3590:- Completely Dicated Health Care Decisions. No Freedom
Terra7Q 1 year ago
oh wait a sec, didn't he feel pain with the needle trick? or was it really a trick?
OyonTheAdept 1 year ago
ted is one of the most valuable things on the web. too bad my students prefer TMZ....i weep for the future.
victorjulio15 1 year ago 14
Comment removed
MaxWeiss 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
@victorjulio
Oh come now, that's baloney and you know it! Every generation thinks the younger ones are screwing things up. How many people your age watch TED online??.. I would bet you that a larger percentage of younger people watch it.
MaxWeiss 1 year ago
@victorjulio15 Aww...my teachers in school showed us videos from TED and ever since we're all hooked!
TheBlackmentos94 5 months ago
Spirit gum! he's wrong about the placebo effect though. Placebo's work because most things one would take them for in clinical trials are self limiting. Meaning that they go away over time. While people "report" they feel better in actuality they are not. Reporting that you're feeling better, and actually being better are mutually exclusive.
peart 1 year ago
@peart Well, your words tried to spark a part of my mind that invigoratingly attacks with wit lol (not trying to brag here). It was close, but no dice. I'll just say this: Ignorance is bliss...even though I really hate that saying...
OyonTheAdept 1 year ago
@OyonTheAdept I'll take the hit for you instead. I just HAD to reply where you managed to take the high road. I applaud you.
GracefulDave 1 year ago
@GracefulDave Haha, thanks
OyonTheAdept 1 year ago
@peart It's not only clinical trials that the effect is present, though that is where the terminology became popular. In areas like cancer recovery you'll find the positive regard and hope for the future work just as well, if not better, than the best scientific medicine has to offer.
GracefulDave 1 year ago
Honey I am a Molecular Biologist and a Micro Biologist trust me the effect of the placebo is the reaction of the nerves to the sugar spike is only that honey
BusinessButterfly 1 year ago
Really. Then obviously you know not all "placebos" are made with sugar then. So how can that account for an effect in inert substances?
peart 1 year ago
It's what those of us in the medical field call the difference between a sign and a symptom.
m015094 1 year ago
sorry but I don't see how that is an idea worth sharing....
stevelano 1 year ago
weak
really weak
finny388 1 year ago
The needle trick at the end absolutely corresponds with the rest of the talk. As he mentioned earlier, how the placebo is delivered (tablet vs. capsule vs. syringe) in part determines it's effectiveness. By making the trick so graphic (large needle, appearance of piercing skin, copious blood), he increases it's effectiveness.
The knife trick is like the little white pill, the needle trick is like injecting the placebo.
cue1go 1 year ago 12
I sympathize with the presenter, but I didn't get the message at all. How does the knife and the needle connect with the placebo effect? I would have liked to hear more fascinating stories about the placebo effect itself.
loftyblond 1 year ago
he gave you a placebo effect. can't get much more fascinating than that.
arlugophotog 1 year ago
I figured he was just squeezing the end of the tube and pumping out the fake blood. But why did it look like he stabbed himself?
myownfreeworld 1 year ago
He uses rubber glue to stick both sides of his skin together around the needle. The blood I don't remember.
Fisherdec 1 year ago
Perception is reality
Shaunt1 2 years ago 6
It's such a thin needle that it would do minimal damage even if it were real. Needles are routinely put into people during acupuncture, but they rarely come away with permanent damage.
However, in this case it's not real; if you look closely, he squeezes the end of the "needle" when he's bleeding. It's a thin tube with holes out the middle and the bulb at the end is full of fake blood (which is a little too dark red).
elminz 2 years ago
TED always shocks me
ztou90 2 years ago
Brilliant.
I really did not understand the theme of the talk until after two minutes of the talk getting over.
It worked. Thanks for sharing. :-)
rahulilrplac 2 years ago
Calm down all you intellectuals.
Just enjoy it for what it is.
mike0upon 2 years ago
I felt queasy watching that and, well, didn't really look. Does that mean the placebo effect worked or not?
lehks 2 years ago
the obvious part is when he squeezes the ball at the bottom of the needle to produce blood. If the blood part of it is an illusion, then the whole thing must be also
amakkar 2 years ago
i dont get it.. why he would do that?
andreads502 2 years ago
Very nice presentation of a classic trick.
remember the E in TED.... Entertainment is also a feature here...
magicalmarc 2 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Jesus like other gods invented by men are just placebos. We allow people to believe in their personal placebo until they do harm to themselves or others.
bullwhipjesus 2 years ago 51
@bullwhipjesus god didnt create man in his image, man created god in his
kiddhitta 1 year ago
@kiddhitta oooooohhhh, you are good!!! I will use this line soon, thnx.
bullyingthebully 1 year ago
@bullyingthebully you're welcome. but i didn't make that up just so you know. i dont wanna take the credit.
kiddhitta 1 year ago
@bullwhipjesus I gotta say that I believe people's belief in a higher power makes it real. Christmas is a time I hate (not a big consumerism fan), but I do love that whole charity/good will towards others thing. I believe that's what makes God real. The belief of obligation makes us perform physical acts, which in turn fuels the belief.
IAmTheUnknownPunk 1 year ago
@IAmTheUnknownPunk I do understand that believing in things that are not true can help someone.EX: If you convenced someone that was a smoker that Bill Gates would give them a million $ if they quit smoking, they would be way more likely to quit. Ultimately it is not real though. But I must ask what exactly do you mean by "god" the god of the bible,or horus, or zeus, or just a general generic god, etc...
bullwhipjesus 1 year ago
Jesus like other gods created by men are all just placebo effects. It is real to believers, and as a society we allow them to fall for their placebo, only to the extent that they do not harm themselves or others.
bullwhipjesus 2 years ago
Huh..no need for bourbon anymore : A shot of placebo, pls !
Hemulen40 2 years ago
so he basically went from the white pill to the needle to show, that our feelings about the visual perseption will make it seem real. we expect to see the holes. we expect to see blood. so we will think it is real, if he can show us both. so, when a patient gets a shot, or will be pierced and have the feeling of getting a shot, he will react accordingly. is that not the whole point about accupuncture? i guess it is.
thrhymes 2 years ago 2
you are an ass.
alphafirstoneyou 2 years ago
kinda looks like seth macfarlane
gsargen1 2 years ago
i was a camp instructor once. a bunch of 12 year old girls came up to me and complained of a "headachey-stomachache" and that they wanted me to call up their parents to pick them up. Now, we were 80 miles out of town on a camping trip - probably the first one they ever went on. I gave them these neutral-colored jelly beans and told them that it was a special pill the camp gives out only to special cases like these. They came up to me the next morning and said they were feeling "much much better"
earlyAMbirds 2 years ago 43
Good thing they didn't have food poisoning.
Gugguggug 1 year ago
"Someone out there didn't have a childhood!" Awesome.
DigitalAssassin 2 years ago
i dont think i get it.
stijnhaki 2 years ago
I really dont know what to take from that.
DerFlo4711 2 years ago
it's not fake skin, it's a special glue like liquid that he smeared on his arm before coming on stage. when he "pushed" the needle in, he twists it so that the skin on each sides of the needle sticks to each other and covers the needle, making it appear as if the needle is through the skin. the blood is obviously stored in the black thing at the end of the needle.
stlyes 2 years ago
No..
He actually pushed the needle through his arm, this is to show that because you believe its a magic trick, so you're not grossed out by it. That's why he was rambling on about the placebo effect, in other words it can work both ways, instead of taking something that's fake and making it real, he took something that's real and made it look fake. Otherwise why would he be rambling on about something that wasn't relevant?
Borridd 2 years ago 3
and I might add, it worked quite well on stlyes !!!
kriptonis 2 years ago
second thought : I think the one well fooled was me after all.
kriptonis 2 years ago 2
@Borridd
No it's fake, When the "blood" comes out you can see him squeezing out the blood out with the black pump at the bottom. I've seen people do the special glue trick before, it really does look real though. The placebo effect was to confuse the audience as to what to believe actually happened.
stlyes 2 years ago
There was glue on his arm, which stuck his skin into a fold, forming a tunnel which the "syringe" could pass through. The tip of the syringe is hollow, and the orb on the end is filled with a red liquid. This allows the magician to squeeze "blood" into the "wound".
It is a trick almost as obvious as the magnetic hand, and was not invented by Eric Mead.
The whole placebo thing was just remotely related, and seemed only an excuse to perform some simple magic. Not worthy of TED.
avraks 2 years ago 5
Bastard just ruined placebos for me... :)
glasizbunara 2 years ago
crappy TED talk
luckystrke 2 years ago
so lets recap: he's not a doctor, he's not a researcher, he read about it somewhere and does not even remember details of the data...
theQbelek 2 years ago
i dont get it, did he really stab himself?
schnookums239 2 years ago
@schnookums239 no he didn't he folded the skin around the needle and when the blood comes out, he squeezes the black bulb at the bottom.
solitary200 2 years ago
thanks, either way he was proving his point which i had able to grasp without understanding his example..
schnookums239 2 years ago
Yes, he did. And that was the point. You wouldnt hesitate that he stab himself, if he just didnt say "I am a magician", or show you the first trick.
kargidesign 2 years ago
visualisation is the strongest force...
yvonne43yhra 2 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
I am not sure
vinicinho20101 2 years ago
Awesome!
LazyStory 2 years ago
so.. what now? lol
rahxephon52 2 years ago
1. How is this a TED speech, seriously...
2. He didn't invent this trick, I first learned it freakin years ago.
Familiar7 2 years ago
1. You're an idiot
2. Congrats, that's not the point of the talk
MrNeutralized 2 years ago 2
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Are you serious? This is one of the worst TED talks yet, the "point" of this talk was weak, forced, and seemed nearly like an after thought to his cringe-worthy unoriginal child's party trick.
If you compare this to the talks of Elizabeth Gilbert, Craig Venter, or Pranav Mistry, this presentation is just utterly woeful.
Familiar7 2 years ago
Familiar7,
First of all, it was only a 9 min talk . It's not fair to compare it to a longer presentations.
Secondly, he presented a couple of tricks, in a manner that was interesting and captivating. A great quality I see in most TED talks. #My2cents
SaraCares 2 years ago
It's always interesting to hear judgement from someone who hasn't actually contrubited at all themselves, and uses the work of other people to pretend that their opinion counts.
dopcodef 2 years ago
Do you realise the irony of your asinine statement?
Familiar7 2 years ago
Brilliant. All these sheeple on youtube won't understand, but some of us do. It's all in the mind, everything, you can take care of yourself depending on what you believe.
electra 2 years ago
Indeed
;)
takethestreetcarhome 2 years ago
I think it is real.
So the placebo effect is something real and make you think it fake.
shunyuanchou 2 years ago 2
SPOILER ALERT!
Spray adhesive on arm. Fold skin over needle with blood pack inside.
michalchik 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Placebos are magic. If they weren't then nothing would happen. What these "scientists" don't understand is not everything can be measured using fancy theories or whimsical mechanical doodads. When will they open their eyes to what God has to say?
robbycocksmith 2 years ago
@robbycocksmith
HEH!!!!!!!?
t3tsuyaguy1 2 years ago
The placebo effect occurs when you believe something will happen, therefore your body reacts accordingly. Placebos in the form of pain killers can make your body create endorphins. Placebos arent magic, its simply the fact that are body tends to react according to its believes. A few people whom meditate, etc can actually induce themselves..Its all about the mind and controlling it. Thats why many now think depression is a result of behavior and the body acting accordingly.
ACANOFSODA 2 years ago 8
There was a study which found that facial expressions occur before mood. We have to smile to feel happy. People who feel themselves smiling after BOTOX injections actually feel better. I see your point making sense about people behaving in a depressed manner then becoming depressed.
bwalters 2 years ago
@bwalters that's a bit of a Pavlov's Dog thing aswell though.
...so does that mean that Pavlov's experiments are an example of the Placebo effect aswell?
dopcodef 1 year ago
@ACANOFSODA very well explained, thanks.
lanceawatt 2 years ago
Its not about being nonobservant. It comes more with experience and knowing "what" to look for. He never fully explained the trick, he just did it, and without the explanation of what is going to take place, you cant search for the inconsistencies. Thats how he gets people, The brain focuses on what he is going to do more than anything else. Therefore the only way you could know is by experience, or if you decided to ignore what was going on and just watch intensely.
ACANOFSODA 2 years ago
rofl it took me a couple of seconds. The placebo is that the audience was thinking they were looking at a magic trick but he really did just stab himself in the arm.
fauxman 2 years ago 14
@fauxman You are faster than me :D
ProtectedNET 2 years ago
None of the reviews on here seem to analyze the performace in full, so in a few words, here it is.
He states his motivation for the routine was finding out blue pills produce a greater mesurable result than white pills.
He then demonstrates this fact by perfomaing two magic tricks; the second of which has a lager mesurable effect (the physical effect of making audeince members "queasy"). He want us to think criticaly about the power of the placebo effect whatever we may make of it.
opoc666 2 years ago 8
I myself got the point, but every now and then it is nice to see a thoughtful comment on the topic of interest. Thank you.
fremandn 2 years ago
watch the whole video
takethestreetcarhome 2 years ago
I think you got it!!! A tricky presentation to abstract the point from, but that's it.
He really stabbed himself and everyone is laughing. Now lets think of the extended applications of this.
I hope we get to see some follow up videos from this guy.
takethestreetcarhome 2 years ago
"For some time I have been interrested in the placebo effect, which might seem like an odd thing for a magician to be interrested in.".
You would have to be incredibly dumb to find that odd.
WiseWeeabo 2 years ago
This is precisely why I argue it is important that alternative cures have labels saying what they are supposed to do.
ddball1 2 years ago
PERCEPTION IS A LIKE DOUBLE EDGED SWORD - it could be a benefit or a liability.
thinkofwhy 2 years ago
Weather balloons.
phadde 2 years ago
this trick is done with glue or rubber cement to pinch the skin together, when he wasn't showing the insertion he was holding the skin very tightly pinched around the needle as the glue binded it. the needle was used to pump the fake blood out of the sides of the fake wound, notice he pumps or touches the end of the needle during the bleeding part.
thisisallidobitch7 2 years ago 3
It's called 'faith'. That's why it works. If you BELIEVE something, your body 'obeys' what you BELIEVE as if it were true.
LOL that's why it's critical to never stand pat on beliefs. I always reserve the right to become an atheist, tomorrow!
brainout1 2 years ago
how is that an idea worth spreading?
mkotisrael 2 years ago 3
How was that related to placebo ?
bluepastel 2 years ago 4
@bluepastel My understanding from the video is that the placebo effect is essentially when you make someone believe a falsehood in order to induce a certain effect on that person. In this case Mr. Mead made his audience believe that he was merely performing an magic trick in order to make people laugh at something they would have otherwise been really grossed out by.
takethestreetcarhome 2 years ago
I am not sure.
Ckordobah 2 years ago
lame. he basically lied again. it IS fake skin. obviously.
TheWiseCommenter 2 years ago
@TheWiseCommenter no its not - its a simple magic trick..
Poecky 2 years ago
I done that trick at home, made mummy and my sister cry.
Bosco239 2 years ago
TheWiseCommenter,
you fail.
Bosco239 2 years ago
actually no, its his skin. :P
He did not lie.
DerUnb3kannte 2 years ago
It's not fake skin.
He used glue on his arm, and when he put the needle through he glued the two sides of his skin together to make it look like it's in his skin.
Then the blood comes out of the bulb at the end of the needle when he squeezes it.
Expl0rati0n 2 years ago 14
Yep. +1
dav1d55 2 years ago
Yeah cool talk, tricking people to it is a trick, but not.
BUT, a small needle thourgh arm is not enough to make a real effect. Leaves most of the audience dull.
I, and probably they, have seen some middle east, african, south american cultures, which they do more incredible stuff to their body without magic.
kargidesign 2 years ago
Comment removed
bamboocha923 2 years ago
How could anyone NOT get that trick? :P
LzI 2 years ago
Lol, I like the guy.
Giby86 2 years ago 2
SHIT the vid. get stuck just befor he stick the niddle in 6:05 can any wonr make a coppy of theis vid. & post it? .......... please
vshart 2 years ago